Just 10 of the 44 female U.S. Senators in history first served in the House of Representatives and three of the last 13 since 2002

Stephanie Herseth Sandlin's decision Monday not to enter the 2014 South Dakota U.S. Senate race means the Democratic Party has probably lost its best chance to keep the seat held by retiring three-term Senator Tim Johnson.

The former Democratic U.S. Representative stated she wished to spend more time with her family and at her new position as general counsel at Raven Industries.

Herseth Sandlin was considered to be the strongest Democrat to run for the seat, although her chances were probably shy of 50/50 in the deep red state despite already being elected in a statewide race four times from 2004 through 2008.

While the former at-large U.S. Representative stated that she had confidence she could win the race, through the decades the U.S. House has not been a surefire pathway for women to land Senate seats.

Overall, twice as many ex- or sitting female U.S. Representatives have lost Senate bids (20) than have won them (10).

And, despite a boost in victorious female U.S. Senate candidates over the last decade leading to a record number of women currently serving in the chamber, very few of these came from the House of Representatives.

Of the last 13 women to serve in the U.S. Senate over the last five election cycles dating back to 2002, just three had previously served in the House of Representatives - Democrats Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, who was first appointed to her Senate seat in 2009 and then won a special election in 2010.

Four sitting or former female U.S. Representatives lost bids for Senate seats during that 10-year span: Georgia Democrat Denise Majette in 2004, Florida Republican Katherine Harris in 2006, New Mexico Republican Heather Wilson in 2008 and 2012, and Nevada Democrat Shelley Berkley in 2012.

Overall, just 10 of the 44 female U.S. Senators in history had previously served in the House.

Republican Margaret Chase Smith of Maine was the first - as well as the first to be elected to the Senate (the previous six had been appointed).

Smith served five terms in the House before winning her first of four Senate contests in 1948 in an open seat race.

The next woman from the House of Representatives to win a Senate seat was Maryland's Barbara Mikulski some 38 years and eight female Senators later.

Since 1986, just nine of the 29 female Senators (including Mikulski) had served as lawmakers in the nation's lower legislative chamber, while ex- or sitting female U.S. Representatives launched another 14 failed Senate campaigns, for a 39.1 percent victory rate.

January's preliminary Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers show Minnesota's unemployment rate of 3.7 percent was once again lower than Wisconsin's 5.0 percent. That marks the 73rd consecutive month in which Minnesota has boasted a lower jobless rate than its neighbor to the east dating back to January 2009 including each of the last 67 months by at least one point. The Gopher State has now edged Wisconsin in the employment border battle for 204 of the last 216 months dating back to February 1997. Wisconsin only managed a lower unemployment rate than Minnesota for the 12 months of 2008 during this 18-year span.

For each of the last 24 presidential elections since 1920, North and South Dakota have voted in unison - casting their ballots for the same nominee. For 21 of these cycles (including each of the last 12 since 1968) Republicans carried the Dakotas with just three cycles going to the Democrats (1932, 1936, and 1964). This streak stands in contrast to the first few decades after statehood when North and South Dakota supported different nominees in four of the first seven cycles. North Dakota narrowly backed Populist James Weaver in 1892 while South Dakota voted for incumbent Republican Benjamin Harrison. In 1896, it was North Dakota backing GOPer William McKinley while South Dakota supported Democrat William Jennings Bryan by less than 200 votes. North Dakota voted Democratic in 1912 and 1916 supporting Woodrow Wilson while South Dakota cast its Electoral College votes for Progressive Teddy Roosevelt and Republican Charles Hughes respectively.